The City of Boulder will host a Community and Council Forum on power reliability and resilience.

The City of Boulder will host a Community and Council Forum on power reliability and resilience, giving community members an opportunity to share their experiences, ask questions and help inform the city’s ongoing work to strengthen the community’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from power disruptions. The forum will take place Thursday, Oct. 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Council Chambers, 1777 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302.

As part of this council priority, the city is identifying actionable strategies to improve power reliability and resilience and support community preparedness to power disruptions. This includes developing a clear understanding of where and how power reliability affects the community, identifying strategies to reduce the frequency, duration and severity of power outages, and determining how the city can better support community members when extended outages occur.

“Community members are experts in their own experiences,” said Carolyn Elam, Sustainability Senior Manager with the City of Boulder. “We hope to bring those experiences directly into conversations with City Council and staff as we determine where to focus our efforts to improve power reliability and resilience.”

The forum builds on previous community engagement that helped identify key areas of reliability and resilience. The city is using this community feedback to help prioritize its work, evaluate potential strategies and identify where additional action is needed.

Following a brief staff presentation, participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and participate in small-group discussions with council members and city staff. Discussions will focus on the areas of reliability and resilience that community members have identified as priorities and how the city can address them.

Ten of the 20 available seats are reserved for invited Boulder community members or business owners with lived experience related to the forum's topic. The remaining 10 seats will be randomly selected from a pool of community members who live or own a business in Boulder and sign up by 2 p.m. on Sept. 30. Interested community members must sign up for a chance to participate; registration does not guarantee selection. To indicate interest or learn more about the Community and Council Forum, visit the city’s website.

All community members, including those not selected to participate, are welcome to observe the forum virtually or in-person. The forum will be livestreamed on Channel 8 and the City of Boulder’s YouTube channel.

The Community and Council Forum was developed in response to community feedback as part of the Better Public Meetings Project. It is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to ensure community voices are heard and address the need for greater inclusivity and engagement in city governance. The forum creates opportunities for meaningful community engagement earlier in City Council’s decision-making process and provides space for perspectives and experiences that may not always be represented through traditional public engagement opportunities.

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